To optimize the efficiency and stability of optoelectronic devices, it is necessary to fabricate devices composed of specific materials and in particular architectural arrangements. The discovery of new materials and structures with novel chemical, optical, electronic, and physical properties can lead to the development of new and useful solar cell devices optimized for particular structures and/or functions
Given the large number of potentially useful materials and device structures, the vast majority of possible combinations of specific materials and architectural arrangements in new solar cell device architectures remain largely unexplored and most devices likely remain far from being optimized. However, prototype optoelectronic devices fabricated using current methods are either one-off creations or are created in small batches, which on a per-device basis incur high cost, significant production time, and significant labor associated with both fabrication and testing. As such, there exists a need in the art for more efficient, economical and systematic methods and apparatus for the rapid and parallel synthesis and characterization of novel optoelectronic devices and for the high-throughput screening of such devices for useful and improved properties.